Logo of the car manufacturer Tesla on the façade of a branch of the company. © Jorge Gil/EUROPA PRESS/dpa
Brandenburg is increasingly suffering from drought. U.S. carmaker Tesla is exploring new water sources in the country. The regional water supplier and the Left Party have fears.
Grünheide - The US electric car manufacturer Tesla is looking for new water sources in dry Brandenburg and is causing criticism. Tesla wants to finance the exploration in Braunsdorf in order to gain insights into the extraction possibilities of groundwater deposits, the company said on Friday on request. "We assume that the power pumping test will start in the summer of this year and be completed in the fall of this year." According to the Oder-Spree district, further exploration is planned in Lebbin. Both are located southeast of Berlin. If successful, Tesla would first have to submit an application for the withdrawal of drinking water. Stern and RTL reported on Friday about the plans and criticism.
According to the State Environment Agency, every water supplier or industrial company in Brandenburg can examine its own water supply options. If this has been successful, someone can submit an application for a permit to the relevant water authority, which is followed by a permitting process. The priority of the public water supply will also be taken into account, said spokesman Thomas Frey. The State Environment Agency is only responsible for the water law permit for groundwater withdrawals of 2000 cubic meters or more per day, the authorities of the districts or independent cities for withdrawals below that.
The Left Party faction in the Brandenburg state parliament and the regional water association Strausberg-Erkner (WSE) see the water supply of the population in the region in danger. "Since everyone has access to the same water supply, this is at the expense of the general public," warned left-wing environmental politician Thomas Domres. "The water supply must remain under public control and in public hands."
WSE boss André Bähler warned against circumventing the interests of public services for a business settlement. The association also supplies Tesla. However, the State Environment Agency pointed out that it does not have to be involved at all for a borehole to explore water.
Tesla wants to expand the plant and double the capacity to one million cars a year. The target of the first expansion stage - 500,000 cars per year - had not yet been achieved. Conservationists have concerns, because the factory is partly located in the water protection area. In addition, Brandenburg suffers from drought. However, the company is not planning any additional water for the expansion and had already saved water so far. The application for the explorations states that the lasting success in Grünheide should be supported by the development of previously unused water resources.
Prime Minister Dietmar Woidke (SPD) had promised Tesla CEO Elon Musk support for the supply of water and electricity during the expansion of the factory. Woidke wrote to him in March that the state government wanted to support Tesla in finding a suitable solution before the summer. Dpa
